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CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The ABS has made a number of changes in this issue. These are described below and reflect ongoing ABS research into the measurement of employment in renewable energy activities, supported by valuable feedback received from particularly industry experts and government sources. The ABS is grateful for the user feedback received to date and will continue to actively seek stakeholder input. The data contained in this publication replace entirely the data contained in the first release but remain experimental in nature.

Estimates for roof-top solar PV have been revised for all years of the time series and a number of factors drive these revisions. A review of employment factors underpinning the estimation of roof-top solar PV has resulted in an upward revision to roof-top solar PV. A significant part of this revision reflects an improved understanding of the extent of administrative and marketing activities within businesses installing roof top solar PV systems. A further part of this revision relates to the inclusion of a factor for manufacturing of solar hot water systems (HWS) in Australia. Employment in activities related to roof-top solar PV now includes employment within those agencies undertaking the processing of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) on behalf of clients. It also now includes those employees of energy utilities who are predominantly engaged in organising renewable energy solutions for customers of the utility.

Employment in biomass has been revised upwards for all years of the reported time series. These revisions are driven mainly by the inclusion of employment activities related to the production of electricity from bagasse.

A number of new tables provide additional socioeconomic data for the assessment of employment in renewable energy activities. For example, dwelling information from the ABS Census of Population and Housing provide an indication of the penetration of roof-top solar PV across the stock of dwellings in each of Australia's states and territories.

A quality declaration for Employment in Renewable Energy Activities, Australia 2014-15 is available within the Explanatory Notes section of this publication.